


i've seen this once before

by AngelWithAStory



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Critical Role: Wildemount Campaign (Web Series)
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Stargazing, just some musings on Mollymauk, sleeping in a dogpile, spoiler for episode 26/27
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 20:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15420936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: It’s dark when Mollymauk wakes up.EPISODE 26/27 SPOILERS





	i've seen this once before

**Author's Note:**

> soooo.... i'm back from a 3 month writing hiatus/dry spell because my end of year exams kicked my ass (I passed my first year of uni tho so Worth It), I fell behind on critical role and only just got the courage to catch up. 
> 
> also I cried today and am utterly heartbroken but that's beside the point <3
> 
> (do yourself a favour and don't listen to Exit Wounds or Dead Man Walking by the Script while thinking of Mollymauk Tealeaf)

It’s dark when Mollymauk wakes up.

It’s the middle of the night and the cart is mercifully dry as he registers the fact he’s awake. There are bodies around him and it takes a lone, deep huff amongst the quiet to register that it’s **Jester** sleeping with her back pressed against his, and **Beau** resting somewhere by above his head. He can vaguely remember that **Nott** had tucked herself into a pile of blankets at the top of the cart and that **Yasha** had taken first watch. (Though he can tell it’s early morning by the fact he can hear her quiet snores floating from _somewhere_ amongst the bodies in the cart).

He blinked a few times, the fog clearing from his mind as he slowly comes back to his body.

Through the darkness, Molly can see a low fire and two figures sitting beside it.

**Caleb,** presumably with a book open in his lap, and **Fjord** leaning a little into **Caleb’s** space. He can hear their quiet voices, but he can’t hear what they’re saying. The murmurs are comforting and Molly blearily watches them for a moment before his gaze shifts once more.

Above their heads, the sky is clear.

This far from cities, Molly can see the stars in the sky. Someone, a long time ago, back in the circus had tried to teach him the constellations. He can’t remember all that well, because he was probably drunk and too busy _experiencing_ to really pay attention.

He wishes he had, now. He would have liked to look up at the sky and see a tapestry.

The moon was bright. Molly liked those night. He had once told **Yasha** that it felt like the Moonweaver was paying special attention when the moon was bright in the sky.

**Beau** nudged his shoulder and Molly looked over at her. She looked like she might still be asleep, if she didn’t have a small frown along her brow, and if she hadn’t started to speak in a sleep-rough whisper.

“Go to sleep, dude.” Her words had no bite, and Molly found himself smiling to himself in the dark.

“Night, **Beau**.” Molly whispered back, turning onto his back and adjusting his folded up jacket behind his head.

His body settled again and Molly sighed.

The stars above him were bright as Mollymauk Tealeaf let himself slip back into a deep sleep.

***

It was dark when he woke up.

Dark

Dark

Wet

Suffocating

_Suffocating!_

He started to claw at the darkness around him. It tried to restrict him.

Keep him pinned down. Smother him.

Something was wrapped around him. Something was encumbering him.

One of his hands broke through the darkness into nothingness.

_Escape!_

There was a way out now.

A small beam of light in the darkness.

He clawed his way toward the light. A desperate man clinging to a desperate hope.

It was night when the man managed to pull himself out of a hole in the ground, lost in the middle of nowhere.

His chest heaved the dirt out of his lungs. His muscles felt weak. His head hurt. His throat was parched.

The man lay on the cold ground for a few moments.

He stared up at the cloudy sky for so long, a passerby may have mistaken him for a dead man.

Slowly, _slowly_ , the man began to think.

The ground was cold. And wet.

Something white and cold covered the entire field around him. He could feel his body beginning to shiver. How long had been here? How long had he been buried?

Why couldn’t he remember anything?

Why did his chest ache?

_Empty._

_Empty_

_empty_

The man tried to stand, though it took a few tries. His legs barely moved.

A heavy stick had been driven into the ground, and the man used that to steady himself.

He blinked a few times as the world came into a sharp focus.

A coat was hanging off the stick.

It was gaudy, intricate, overly detailed. Was this his? Did he really wear this?

The cold was starting to seep into his bones, so the man tore the coat away from the stick and wrapped himself up with it. It was stiff from the cold, but the man didn’t care. It would keep him warm against this cold night.

As the man stood and wrapped his arms around himself, he heard a crinkle of parchment from his pocket.

A note had been tucked into his shirt pocket. Folded with care, and written with a certain precision.

 

_Mollymauk,_

_If you read this, then please find us. We are your_ ~~_frien_ ~~ _family, and we miss you. You can find us through the Gentleman, in the city of Zadash._

_Sincerely,_

_The Mighty Nein._

 

**Mollymauk**.

The name settled on the man’s shoulders heavily. Something familiar and alien, all at once. Something… _fulfilling_ , perhaps.

He began to walk towards the road.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm queenmoggy on tumblr and discord, feel free to cry @ me <3
> 
> im in the deepest state of denial rn


End file.
